Lock and a Key
by Lynk A. Creonan
Summary: What happens when a girl from a different dimension befriends Zack and Reno? What happens after the girl is kidnapped and becomes an experiment for Hojo? What happens when her father tells her that she is stuck in that dimension? Full summary inside.
1. New Dimensions

**FULL SUMMARY:  
****A teenage girl who only craved adventure. A father who created a dimension gate, just for her. In the new dimension, the girl soon finds out that the dimension gate has broken and is stuck there for 4 years. Reno offers her a place to stay, but only if she becomes a Turk.**

**Kidnapped, the girl is tested on for a number of days. After awhile, she learns that she has become a perfect Sephiroth clone.**

**Will she ever return home? How long can she fight off the affects of being a clone? What will become of ShinRa if she stays?**

**RATED T FOR:  
Mild Violence  
Slight Language  
Small Themes (if you know what I mean)**

* * *

I roll over and see him sitting there, slouched backwards with his lanky arms crossed. He is asleep and snoring quite loudly. With his hair out of his pony tail and the way his goggles are pulled over his eyes, he looks so darling. The fact that he is sleeping in that chair like that gives me the immediate understanding that he has been at my side every second I've been unconscious. Then I realize this moment may be the last that I'll ever get to see him doing something nice for me, caring for me; the last time I notice him when he doesn't notice me.

"Hey," I say as I sit up, my voice gravely from no recent use.

"Hmm?" He is instantly awake. "Zinica!" At first he's smiling and excited. Then his smile melts into an expression of horror and tragedy as he realizes there is only one reason I am awake. "You made your decision?" he asks softly.

"Yeah," I reply. "I don't really have a choice. I'm sorry but, I have to go back."

Okay, so I guess that I should start from the beginning.

Ever since I was a little girl I craved adventure. Sadly, I was deprived of anything adventurous in the world that I exist in. I would always mention how I was born in the wrong time period, exactly one year after the war ended. Even with my father in the Military, life was just lackluster. No matter how many stories my parents told me about the excitement and devastation of the war, it wasn't enough. I wanted to live it, not hear about it. I stopped caring about how Midgar split into Civil War, eventually tying in the rest of the world powers and making the biggest World War of any before it. My mother was a nurse during the time and my father fought for our rights, but what I wanted more than anything was to have been there, helping out the people I love.

When I turned twelve, I was finally fed up with the bores of existence. I realized this emotion while lying in my bed, watching the sun rise as I resisted sleeping. Rest, for me, was always more boring than being awake. I never dreamed, but when I did they were always nightmares. Yes, I'd mentioned it before to my parents, but to them I was their frail little girl. Twelve was when I could start volunteering around the neighborhood and get paid for it. Twelve was when I could get a couple market jobs. Twelve was when I wasn't a frail little girl anymore. If my age would give me the responsibility to interact with people in a professional manner, then why wouldn't I be allowed to adventure? I ripped the covers off my bed and stomped out of my room to the kitchen where my parents munched on breakfast. In the room, I plopped down next to him in the empty chair and crossed my arms.

"What's the matter, Zinica?" my father inquired as he sipped a mug of coffee.

"I can't take it anymore," I mumbled.

"Take what anymore?" my mother asked, pouring herself some tea.

"Life is so boring. I want to do something fun, something exciting; I don't mean coming with you to sell flowers, mother."

"Well, what do you want us to do about it?"

"I want to leave this place! I want to go to another place where excitement happens!"

"Why don't you apply for SOLDIRE?" That was the name of the Military division my father was involved in.

"Zack, she's only twelve," mother objected.

"Hey, it's a thought."

"Grrr... I'm going back to my room!"

I stopped trudging halfway down the hallway and sat down on the floor, holding my knees close to my chest. I wanted to hear if my parents were going to talk about what had just happened. In reality, I was a pretty cunning kid. Most of the time, I could understand how people would act in a certain situation and manipulate it to my advantage. I hated doing that though. It made me feel so dirty.

"Aerith," my father began. "What do you think she means by, 'another place?'"

"I don't know."

"Well, what about dimensions? That idea has been tossed around before."

"It has."

"Maybe you don't have to be a scientist to figure things out."

There was a long pause in their conversation. I was about to retreat to my room when my father spoke once more. "I am going to try to build a dimension traveling device."

Ever since then, I had been thinking about if he was still constructing it or if he had given up on pleasing his little girl. Seven years had passed and I had just about given up on the idea. With the thought of having wasted thousands of nights foolishly dreaming of the day my father would burst into the house and take me with him on a magically adventure like the ones in stories. Nineteen years old. I didn't have any more dreams. I had to think about a career and potential spouses. I had to stop living with my parents.

With all of my belongings packed, I walked down that same hallway to the kitchen. My mother was preparing some kind of dessert when I asked her where father was. She told me that he had been out all day, but wanted me to wait for him to get home before I left. I sighed and sat down at the table, making small talk about how her day was going and what the treat was for. Before I knew it, my father burst into the room out of breath, calling my name. His blue eyes shone in excitement at me, however the bags underneath them told a different story. I asked him what was wrong, but all he only urged me to follow him. I looked to mother for advice. "Just go with it, Zinica," was all she said to me.

I was dragged by my father all the way down to the basement. It was where he spent most of his time when he wasn't assigned a mission. Once there, the only thing that I saw was a huge circular object—a few feet taller than me and wider than my arm span—in front of me. It had a sheet draped over it that was beige with stains and smelled of oil and sweat. I knew it was there to prevent any eyes from seeing what was underneath, but that only made me even more curious.

"This," was all that my father said. I slowly walked over to it and pulled off the cover, realizing that it was heavier than it appeared. The object underneath resembled a gate. There were lights that bordered the top of the circular part that flashed on and off in a pattern of green, blue, and red. On the floor were tons of wires that ran from the item to hundreds of outlets on the wall or numerous batteries on the floor.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a gate."

"Yeah, I got that much; but a gate to what or where?"

"Other dimensions."

I was intrigued. "Explain," I commanded, crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes. If he was joking, this was just about the last thing that I would want him to be joking about. My father knew better than anyone how neurotic I was about time. There was a specific time frame that I had to get into my new home and if I didn't get there because my father was feeling a little crazy, I would have a serious panic attack.

"A dimension is a level of existence; a place where other beings like you and I live. Heck, they may even be exactly like us. Live like us, have the same names as us, just have a different story line, basically."  
Sure, it was a plausible idea, but my patience was wearing thin. "How did you make this?"  
"It took me four years to build; three years to do the research. The in between parts are kind of a blur, but I managed to make it and it works."  
"You tested it?"  
"Yeah. I went to a dimension and I want you to go too. There, everyone in this world exists in that one. Well, they aren't the same, but there are qualities that are similar and the names are all the same. Sounds pretty cool, huh?"

It did, and I have to admit, I was a little excited at the aspect of it all being true. But it was too good to be true. And too impossible.  
"Father, you know I have to be somewhere," I told him. "Can we please just stop this?" I turned to leave, rubbing my forehead in an attempt to be rid of the horrible headache I suddenly had.

"Zinica, please!" he called. "I'm not lying! Just believe me! I've been working every second of my free time for this. For you!"

I spun around to face him. I wouldn't stand it anymore. "I haven't seen you at all in the last seven years! If this joke is your excuse, then you must not care about me at all!" It was true. He had missed every good moment of my life. When it was finally time for me to leave that jest was all he had to say to me?

"How could you say that? Zinica, I love you more than anything, if you would just listen-"

"Listen to what? I'm tired of this, father." I turned to leave again, "I'm leaving now."

When my foot reached the first step of the stairs, he said in a quiet tone, "This happened with your mother too." I didn't turn to look at him. "While we were dating in college, she told me she loved flowers, but that she couldn't find a specific kind that was her favorite. I guess I must have neglected her for a few months while I searched for even just the seeds to those flowers. When I got a hold of them, she freaked out at me like you are now. I couldn't give them to her in person, so I mailed them to her after she dumped me."

"What's the point of this story?" I asked.

"The point is that I was stupid then and I'm the same stupid person now, but I need you to know that it's because I love you." He walked closer to me. "You asked me for an adventure, so I searched for a way to make that possible."

I sighed, deciding that I might as well give in. I had three hours before my time frame would be up, so wasting a little bit of time wouldn't hurt me, right? "If I went through this gate to another dimension, would the amount of time I spent there be the same as if I were here?"

"Not exactly," he said once I spun around to look at him again. "Every minute you spend in the other dimension is only a second for us. So how long would it be in this dimension if you spent an hour there?"  
I quickly did the math in my head. "One minute because there are 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour."  
"Correct."

In resignation, I suspired, telling my father that I would go to the other dimension for only a moment. His mood was instantly lifted, his eyes glowing even brighter than normal. He informed me of all of the protocol I had to follow and all of the issues I'd have to look out for. I don't remember how long it took to explain it all, but I still know every little detail he mentioned. I was smart—sometimes too smart. With each word he said, I could feel excitement creeping up inside me. I tried to keep it down by telling myself that it was simply not possible, but my attempts were basically failing me.

"Hold out your hand," my father instructed. Once I did so, he placed a teal colored materia in my hand. It sunk through my skin and into my palm, soon appearing only as a glowing, circular outline on both sides of my hand. "This is your controller for the gate. With this, we can communicate through either voice or video. You can also tell the gate to bring you back here or to even go to another dimension. If for some reason the gate isn't working, then you can't go anywhere, but the communication will still work on the remote."  
More time passed. I started to phase out when I looked at the clock and saw that only an hour was left for the amount of time I had to get into my apartment. I was snapped back into reality when he said, "All right you can go now. Your mother and I will see you soon." That's when I started to panic. Shaking, I gave my mother and father a goodbye hug. He reassured me of his love and our soon reunion. I inquired about my apartment and they promised to move me in if I wasn't back in time. Though their words were kind and true, I was still afraid of what lied beyond the mysterious gate my father built. The only thing I could do was breathe through it and remind myself of the wishes I had as a child. They were coming true, but I had built up too many walls to really let my true emotions show.

I looked up at the gate flickered to life. Stepping through it, I'm not sure if I had ever felt more alive and scared at the same time.

The physical feelings I had were definitely a lot different than my mental ones. It was as if I had gone into a temporary coma. Everything went black and my head started to feel light. I think I remembered father saying something about the first time is rough, but you get used to it the next time. Gee, what a relieving thought.

The moment I arrived in the new dimension was really weird. I was in the sector five slums, but I knew that it wasn't the slums where I lived. Where I was trying to move away from.

Someone was running towards me. He had fire red hair that ended in a long ponytail in the back and goggles on his forehead. The outrageous appearance he was sporting didn't quite match the suit he was wearing. It kind of clashed, but that might just have been his fashion sense. I tried to act like I didn't notice him. I began to walking the opposite direction of where he was running. It didn't work. The man rammed into me with full force while my head was turned, knocking us both to the ground. "Hey!" he yelled, wiping the dust off his unbuttoned blazer. "Watch where you're going!"

"Excuse me, I wasn't the one running at high speed away from nothing," I objected, pulling myself to my feet. The other stared up at me with glimmering green eyes. He outstretched his hand as if he were asking for me to help him up. I denied his silent request.

"What, you expect to me to say 'I'm sorry?'" I glared at him as he put his hand down and rose to his feet on his own. It turned out he was a good three inches taller than me. "All right, I'm already on a death list; I don't want to be on yours too."

I scoffed and started walking away.

"I'm sorry," he called after me. I guess I should have been nice and yelled over my shoulder that it was alright, but dismissing him a little bit more amusing.

"Reno!" I heard from behind me. It wasn't the voice of the red-haired-clashing-outfit guy. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a bald guy wearing the same suit as who I assumed to be named Reno, but better. By that, I mean that it was actually buttoned and a matching tie was tucked neatly underneath. Bored, I trained my eyes forwards and continued walking.

"Rude! I don't, ah! No!"

I laughed, deciding that whatever happened was what the guy deserved.

"That's what you get for running into me!" I called as I turned around and winked at Reno with my hands on my hips. I discovered that Rude had Reno in a headlock. It was quite comical. Chuckling under my breath, I determined that it wouldn't be too bad if I ran into those two again.  
Soon after the scene, I thought that I would go to the old church that my mother told me she used to grow flowers in. In my own dimension, the building had burned down a year before I was born in the war. I had only ever seen it's ashes, so I hoped that it would be there in this world. On my way, I ran into someone who was extremely familiar—my father. Well, it wasn't actually my father. It was him in this dimension, but he looked too young to have a daughter. As a matter of fact, he only looked to be a few years older than I was. He sported what I recognized as a first-class SOLDIER uniform and one difference upon his face, a scar. I was curious where it had come from, but since he didn't actually know me, I refrained from inquiring.

"Excuse me!" he asked, grabbing my shoulder and my attention.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered, surprised to see him looking so handsome and energetic. My father was always so tired from the day's work. At least, that's what I remember of him from when I was a kid.

"Have you seen a man with red hair and-,"

"He's down by the market," I answered before he could finish.

"Oh, well, thanks." He turned to go towards the area I informed him of. I didn't want him to go. I frantically searched my mind for something to say to make him stay, but I came up with nothing. Luckily, he came up with some words for me. He made it only a few steps away when he said, "My name is Zack." We both turned around and looked at each other. He had on a warm smile—one I knew well. Except, that time it was more welcoming instead of knowing. I knew it was because I wasn't someone he knew, but it still made me feel a little upset. Zack walked towards me and outstretched his hand.

"My name is Zinica," I answered, taking his hand and smiling.

He stared at me for a short while, not letting go of my hand. I imagined he was thinking about the name like it was strangely familiar, but he couldn't place from where. "That's a pretty name," he replied. I thanked him and he asked where I was going.

"I'm looking for the church."

"R-right," he said. He let go of my hand and turned to continue leaving, but he seemed a little down. I thought of something to say.

"Hey, Zack," It was weird saying my father's name. "Tell Reno the girl he bumped into says hi."

He brightened up a bit at my words. I believe it was because he felt like he knew me from somewhere and didn't want to lose a chance to figure out where from. It was as if he was the determined and good willed type of person. "I will."

"It was nice meeting you." His mood was lifted even more.

"You too." That time, we actually parted.

When I arrived at the church, I stood outside for a few moments, just staring at the building. It was there with every detail just the way I imagined it. I thought of all of the things my mother must have done here, trying to picture her inside of it. I played through the story of when my father first met her there. He burst through the door and deeply inhaled through his nose. He told her that a beautiful smell drew him in, and she offered a flower. My father denied the flower and insisted that it was she who truly smelled so wonderful.

I smiled in my memories and gathered the courage I needed to open the doors before me. I exhaled and started to push them open.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't expect anyone to be in here," I called as soon as the door was open far enough for me to notice the younger figure kneeling on the ground. The figure turned her head to look at me and revealed her identity as Aerith—my mother in my dimension. She was younger than I knew, like Zack was, and her hair was far longer. The white dress she sported was so precious and the sunlight pouring in from the hole in the ceiling cast a halo of light around her head. If I hadn't known any better, I would have assumed her to be an angel.

"It's alright, I love company," her soft voice said. "I rarely get company from someone other than Zack," she chuckled and then gestured for me to come towards her.

Nervous and cautious, I eased my way into the church, taking in all of my surroundings. It was as if I were dreaming—everything seemed so perfect. My mother was there. The churched I longed to know was still standing. It was too good to be true.

"So what are you doing over there?" I asked as I approached her.

"Just tending to my flowers," she answered, not looking up at me.

I gazed down at the lovely assortment of floras around her. Aerith was sitting amongst a patch of yellow, purple, and white flowers. "Oh how beautiful," I commented.

"Thank you. My friend, Zack Fair, has been encouraging me to sell them."

"He is right to do so," I said. Thinking back to my own family, I remember how my mother told me the same thing when I was young. She said that the flowers around our house wouldn't be there without my father.

There was a buzz coming from my arm. My hand began to vibrate.

"I apologize, but I must go." I started to walk quickly out of the building, wanting desperately to talk to my father and tell him how things are going. Honestly, I was having a great time and I had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

Aerith stood and stared at my retreating form. "Can we meet again?" she called out.

Looking back at her, I saw how worried she looked. It was as if I left at that moment she would be losing a large part of her own life forever. In a way, it was like how Zack reacted when we almost parted the first time.

"Of course," I told her. "I can look here for you?"

"Sure," she replied with a look of relief washing over her face.

I rushed out of the church as quickly as I could. I sprinted all the way to an empty, dark alley before I looked at my hand and tapped the holographic button that read, 'answer video message.'

"Zinica," my father began. His voice was serious as if something bad had happened. I swallowed, nervous about what he was going to tell me. "I have some bad news."

"What's wrong, father?" I asked.

"Something happened to the gate after you stepped through it. It won't work. You can't come home."

I think my heart stopped for a moment at that time. I was all of a sudden stuck in a foreign place. I couldn't go home. I didn't know anyone. I had no place to live. The one thought of security that I had—that I could go home whenever I wanted—was ripped from me. "W-what?" I stuttered.

"It might take me two years my time to fix it." He sighed, avoiding looking at me. "You're going to have to find somewhere to live, I'm sorry."

"Father," I began. My eyes began to water and my throat felt like it was clogged.

"Zinica, I love you, and will contact you once every day your time. Okay?"

"Okay." I had to choke out the word, a tear escaping my eyes.

"Now I have to go." No. Don't go. Stay. Stay with me forever.

"Bye." The holographic picture of my father disappeared. I leaned back against the cement wall and slid down it until I was sitting, my knees bent and legs squished up against my body. I let the tears run down my face. Hope washed out of me. I was alone, abandoned, and eventually would be forgotten. I couldn't go home. I had no options and no schedule to follow. Isn't that what I had wanted? To live in a new place away from my parents? No, not like this.

I sat there for a while—at least that is what it felt like. It must not have been that long because there was someone eavesdropping.

"You need somewhere to stay?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I looked to the side and noticed the Reno was leaning nonchalantly against the opposite wall in the tiny alleyway. "Because, if you become a Turk, then you'll stay at headquarters with us."

My face felt stiff and crusty from the salty tears that dried on my cheeks. I must have looked like a mess to him. "Why would I want to stay in the same place as you?" I scowled, my voice raspy and throat horse.

"Ouch, that hurts me right here," Reno said as he stood up straight and tapped his chest where his heart is with his right index finger. I really had no intentions of dealing with people at that moment. I barely wanted to deal with them normally. Plus, I knew this guy was obnoxious already, so why would I want to take his help? I rose to my feet and walked out of the alley. To my dismay, Reno followed. "Can you please stop following me?" I asked.

"Not until you tell me that you want to be a Turk."

"I don't want to be a Turk."

"Yes you do!"

"Go away."

"You do."

"I can take you down."

"Prove it."

Without even a second in between, I crouched with my one leg sticking out, spun and kicked Reno in his ankle, sending him crashing to the floor. I rose and flipped over him, landing on his ponytail. Putting all of my weight on his hair, I prevented him from escape.

"See?" I mocked. I kicked him in the shoulder for good measure before I moved off of him and walked a little to his left.

"Okay, so you're good. Which only proves that you should be a Turk."

I glared at him for a few seconds as he climbed to his feet. He wiggled a little on the ankle I kicked, showing that I managed to injure him. He was just too cool to show that it actually probably hurt a whole lot. From my dimension, all of the same organizations existed, so I knew what the Turks were and did and I assumed that it would be the same in this strange place. That would mean that the Turks were more of an investigative, intelligence group rather than a military division, therefore enhancing my curiosity as to why my combat skills would be of use. "Okay, I'm not saying yes and I'm not saying no. So just, leave me alone. I'll find you when I have an answer."

"That's good enough for me." Reno shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking away.

"No goodbye?" I yelled. Completely rude.

"Nope."

After standing in the middle of the market for a minute, I decided that there was only one place I knew I could go back to—the church to see Aerith once again.

When I was right outside, I noticed that Zack was making his way towards the doors as well. "Hey, Zack!" I called, trying to act happy. He spun around and smiled in my direction. He didn't notice that I was actually incredibly upset, so pretending like I wasn't in an attempt to make myself feel better must have been working.

"Hey, Zinica!" he replied. I jogged towards him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Aerith, as are you, I believe?"

"I am," he replied, his tone sounding slightly suspicious.

I heard footsteps from behind me. "Someone's coming," I whispered. I quickly spotted a wall that the two of us could hide behind not too far away.

"It's no big de-" Zack began to say, but I grabbed him by the forearm and tossed him over to the wall. I sprinted over. "Hey what's the big idea?" he yelled. I grabbed his wrist and yanked him to his feet. Then I seized his shoulder in addition to his wrist and spun him around so his face met the wall. I watched as the person I heard behind us approached the Church. He was wearing the same suite as Reno and Rude were wearing, so I assumed that this was the 'dress code' for Turks. He had black hair that was tied up into a short pony-tail. "That's Tseng," Zack mumbled, his face smothered in the concrete.

The two of us waited there for a few minutes before we saw Tseng leave the church with a hand full of flowers. When he was out of sight, we emerged from or hiding spot and walked back towards the church.

"How did you know?" Zack asked.

"How did I know what?"

"That there was a Turk coming?"

I shrugged. It just came as an instinct to me now. Ever since I was five, my father taught me how to be SOLDIRE material. Every time he came home, he would show me the latest combat move or the newest stealth move. As I learned all these things, my senses sharpened. I could hear more, smell more, and see more than before. People I wouldn't normally notice would seem suspicious. Mother was worried about me, but father was determined to get me into the corps when I was twenty-one. It was two years before that would happen.

We walked inside, but not before I noticed Zack's expression He had on a solemn gaze. His entire face was pointed down and I was assuming that his mood was too. I pondered what could have made him so serious.

"Hello, Aerith!" I called as I waved my hand in the air.

"Hi!" she replied. I turned my head to look at Zack. He was smiling the same way he was when we first met, except brighter, like the way my father smiles at my mother—full of love and happiness. This guy was curious and I couldn't decide if he was worth decoding or not.

The three of us were simply kneeling on the ground having a pleasant conversation and getting to know one another when the entrance doors burst open.

"Are you Zinica?" a deep voice asked. I turned around and recognized him. It was Rude. I stood up.

"What do you want with me?"

"I have orders from Director Lazard himself to bring you to Shinra," he answered, starting to walk towards me while adjusting the gloves he was wearing. I noticed that Zack stood up too, putting his hand on his weapon and getting ready for battle. "No, this is my fight," I said.

"Then you're going to need this." Zack handed me the giant sword he had slung on his back.

"Protect your honor," he whispered as I tightened my grasp on the handle. I shouldn't have been thinking about it, but I wasn't even sure if I had any honor.

And if I did have honor, what would it be for? I was distracted which didn't help my fighting ability at all.

The two of us charged at each other. I swung the giant sword in Rude's direction, but he dodge out of the way. He took many attempts at punching me and kicking me and flipping me, but I dodged all of them. Our battle went on for a while, composed of these ways. If I had two swords like I normally do, I wouldn't have been doing so badly. It wasn't that I couldn't left the sword because I sure could, I was just bothered by the fact that I couldn't hit him and that I wasn't entirely focused.

I didn't notice it, but someone entered from above and landed behind me. "Zinica! Look out!" Zack shouted.

I spun around and discovered the person dropping in on me was Reno. He was standing only a few inches away from me with our noes practically touching. I noticed something jabbing me in the stomach. "Surprise," he said, smiling cockily. I looked down and saw him holding a metal rod at me.

"What is-" was all I was able to get out. Reno pushed a button on his rod and sent an electric shock through my entire body, sending me crashing to the floor and unconscious.


	2. The Turks

**RATED T FOR:  
****Mild Violence  
****Slight Language  
****Small Themes (if you know what I mean)**

* * *

When I woke up, I felt different. I was floating in a green liquid inside a glass tube. It made my skin feel tingly and for some reason, I could breathe in it as well as see clearly. I think the liquid was somehow calming me because I wasn't panicking whatsoever. Considering the situation I was in, I should have been freaking out, thrashing and screaming. After sorting out my thoughts, I looked out and saw that Reno was standing outside the tube, staring at me.

"Oh, so you're awake," I heard him say.

I struggled to give him a glare. My bones felt weak and my muscles were none responsive.

"Hey you guys, she's awake," Reno called before exiting the room. Very faintly, from another area I heard, "Does this means that the experiment is over?"

"Yes, it is time for us to drain the tank and test her out."

"Wait, did you re-write her memory?"

"No, the only thing we cha-" the dialogue was lost. I guessed that the two had traveled farther away. The next thing I knew was that the liquid was draining. I collapsed to the ground, coughing. Out of my lungs came water and the green liquid. I wondered why I felt so wretched without the solution surrounding me, but also why it made me feel so nice while in it. A door opened in the glass that was invisible before.

"I see," a man said. He was wearing a white coat and had long black hair with grey streaks that were tied back into a ponytail.

I tried to speak, to talk back to this man. Nothing came out, not even air.

"Don't try," he said, his voice old and raspy. "Your body will be non-responsive for the next few hours. If for longer, than it will be proof that you are a perfect clone."

A clone? What did they do to me?

Reno appeared in my vision. "Can she stand?" he asked.

"She should be able to."

Reno reached down and grabbed my arm. I shoved him away and stood with my own ability. When I did, I realized how tall Reno was, or rather, how short I was. Our gazes locked. I really got to observe his appearance, realizing that he appeared friendlier than I assumed. Reno smiled. It was a nice smile—kind and beautiful. "There's something I want you to see." Through the halls he dragged me by the arm. He brought me to a room with a mirror in it. "Look," he instructed as he angled my body towards it. "Look at your eyes." My eyes. They had turned blue. Before, they were a similar green to Reno's, but now they had only slight tint of green and glowed.

"Do you think they're pretty?" Reno asked as he placed his hands on my shoulders.

I nodded.

"I think so too."

I blushed. Okay, so I discovered that he was actually kind of nice and even a little attractive. Maybe I was too quick to judge him. It's something I do a lot and I've always been a little ashamed of how judgmental I am. I wanted to tell him that I liked his eyes too, but since I couldn't talk, I tried improvising.  
I turned around to look at him and started flapping my hands around above my head. "Charades?" Reno asked. I nodded. A good guess? I hope so. Him knowing from only the flailing gesture would be a little disturbing.

I stuck up my pinkie finger and pointed towards myself.

"I?" he guessed.

I nodded. Then I made my hands into a heart shape.

"Love?"

I nodded. Next, pointed at him, then made a plus sign with my fingers and tried to make an 'r' with my index finger.

"Your?"

He was really good at this game. I nodded once again. Finally, I pointed at my one eye.

"Eyes?"

I nodded. My neck was growing tired.

"You love my eyes?"

Again, I nodded. I began to hope that I would be able to speak again soon. I was growing tired of the whole nodding thing. I blushed a bit and he patted me playfully on the shoulder. "I kind of like you," he said to me. "I think I'll keep you."

The two of us walked outside and made out way back to the Sector five slums. Most of the way was silent, mostly because having a conversation with a mute is a task. He decided that he had a little bit of extra money and that it would be a good time to buy some items down at the market. Specifically, he mentioned a pad of paper and a writing utensil so that we could communicate without injuring my neck.

"So," he began as we walked away from the vendor who sold us the items. "Have you decided?" I responded with a questioned expression. "If you want to be a Turk or not, I mean, you were unconscious for a couple days."

I widened my eyes and lifted my eyebrows. A couple of days? I desperately wanted to know what happened to me for what had apparently been the past few days. Putting all the pieces together and pondering the possibilities just made me nervous, so I decided it was better to wait for someone to tell me. Both things turned out to be hard. My mind wandered easily.

"Oh yeah, forgot to mention that part in the details…" I snatched the pad of paper and pencil out of his hands. In capital letters I wrote_, what details? You didn't explain anything!  
_

"Oh, well, sorry."

I shook my head and shoved the items back at him. I knew that he was going to need some getting used to. Since I've never really dealt with people in the past, his outrageous personality was something completely foreign to me. I thought he was weird, practically outrageous, so it didn't help that I not only didn't understand him, but I hated some of his actions. Reno's sarcastic and uncaring cocky tone was really getting to me. In the back of my mind, however, I understood that the only reason he bothered me was because I was ignorant to personalities. Honestly, I wanted to get to know him. This was my adventure and on adventures, people learn things and grow as people. I hoped getting to know Reno would help me accomplish those ideals.

We continued roaming the street. I listened as Reno told me stories of his life as a Turk and different jokes he had thought of. Most were funny and I enjoyed just letting him talk. Being silent was a change for me, but a nice one. Eventually, my smile turned into a thing of charm, and Reno asked me, "Where'd ya' get that?" I replied with a look of confusion and he clarified, "That cute smile—no, that cute _everything_."

I could not believe he said that to me. It was so embarrassing, but slightly charming at the same time. My face flushed red. I punched him in the shoulder and stomped over to the perfume shop. Behind me, I heard him laughing and calling that I was just making myself look cuter. When I got up to the counter, the lady behind it asked me if he was my boyfriend. I smacked my head against the cold, wooden, counter. Reno came up behind me and draped his arm around my shoulders. When I stood up, I noticed how much taller he was than me. The difference was almost a whole foot, and my head was cradled perfectly in the crook of his collar bone. It was comfortable and nice. I hated to admit that I liked it a little. Glad that I couldn't speak, Reno leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"Ya know, you never gave me an answer."

I nodded. At that moment, I didn't care what he was really asking me. No matter what, I wanted to say yes to whatever he offered, even if it was to jump off the edge of a building. Okay, maybe that's a little extreme.

He grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me around, holding me at arm's length. "Yes? Yes to what? Yes you'll be a Turk?"

I nodded again, a smile accompanying the gesture.

"I'm so excited!" Reno was practically jumping up and down.

Upon reflection, I realized that what I had agreed to was to be a Turk. I felt like it was unclear how someone entered their seemingly secret society and wondered if it always happened the way it did with me. Honestly, I didn't know these people, they didn't know me, and I had no idea what the job entitled. It was mysterious and exciting. I couldn't wait another minute.

Reno told me he wanted to buy me one last thing to celebrate what he purchased was a necklace. It was basically a chain, but the clasp was a lock—one of those old fashioned ones that was really easy to open with a bobby pin and toothpick. I gave the key to Reno for him to keep. It was symbolic, so I refused to tell him why no matter how many times he asked. Inside, I wished that one day he would get it, but I don't think he ever did.

It was three hours later before I could talk again.

"Ah, sweet words!" I exclaimed as the two of us walked through yet another run-down dusty section of the slums.

When we stopped for a moment, Reno asked, "Will you be okay on your own for a little while? I have to go and talk to Professor Hojo."

"Have fun," I tell him, imagining things I could do by myself and all of the places I could explore.

I waved good-bye to the other and he trotted off with his hands in his pockets. I turned to go the other way, when I saw a helmeted Infantryman running towards me. "Are you Zinica?" he gasped with his hands on his knees in an attempt to hold himself up despite his fatigue.

"That's me. Who're you?"

"My name is Cloud Strife." It was strange—a name I didn't recognize.

"How do you know me?"

"I heard about you from my friend, Zack Fair."

"Oh, Zack!"

"I wanted to meet you in person."

I smiled in reply. I didn't really know what to say. All I knew was that this creepy guy whose face I couldn't see wanted to talk to me, but he wasn't doing a very good job.

"Hey," he said after starring at my face for several minutes. "You look a lot like Zack."

"Umm… thank you?"

"No, no, really, you look like him!"

I continued to stare. What did he expect me to say? It wasn't necessarily a compliment, nor was it an insult. It simply was.

"Well, okay. I'll see you later then…" and off he ran. He was a strange one straight from the start. The only problem was if I ever met him again, I wouldn't be able to recognize him.

Really, actually alone again, I had nothing to do. I decided that I had seen practically everything that the slums had to offer, so I went to explore Sector 8 and see if I could get tickets to see LOVELESS. I had heard some buzz about it as Reno and I paced about the marketplace. I recall something about a guy from SOLDIER loving it and memorizing every single line.

The play was fantastic. There was so much character depth and plot twists that it was both thrilling and intellectually stimulating. I've always loved literature—writing it, reading it, everything. The reason for such is mainly because I love reading people. When I look at someone, I can instantly tell so much about their personality depending on the way that they talk, walk, and dress. My father always applauded how I could instantly be able to tell when someone is lying or telling the truth. I've never really been able to use the ability for anything special or to my advantage, but I'm keep looking forward to the day that it will be.  
As I walked outside, I decided that I wanted to go and see if Reno was back from headquarters yet. Wandering aimlessly though Midgar proved ineffective for discovering different activities, so I wanted to look for the one person I knew would not only want to see me, but be willing to show me around. The city was governmentally structured identically to my own, but the physical appearance was completely different. I assumed that had something to do with the war that tore my own Midgar apart. Many of the Sectors that I had wandered through in this place did not exist in my home, and even if they did, they were quarantined off because of radiation or utter destruction. Basically, I was lost and had only an inkling of how to get around, so I wanted Reno back to help me.

"Did you enjoy the show?" I heard a voice ask me. It was not only obviously male, but smooth and eerie, yet a little seductive all at the same time. It sent a chill up my spine.

"Who said that?" I called, desperately looking around for the owner of the voice.

A figure wearing a long red coat and a first-class SOLDIER uniform on floated down in front of me. "My name is Genesis. I couldn't help but notice you."

"What do you mean?" I asked after a moment of gawking at the attractive man even though he looked like he was going gray; very gray.

"Your hair, your eyes, your face, even your posture resembles my favorite rival. Do you know a man named Zack Fair?"

It seemed as though everyone that I ran into knows Zack in some way or the other. I decided that he was either really popular, just a good guy, or bad news.

"I do. And if you are trying to act smooth, let me just inform you that you aren't the first person that has noticed our similarities," I smirked.

Genesis chuckled. "I love your attitude. It's the kind of thing that gets someone on my good side."

I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to be on his good side or what the qualifications for his 'good side' even were. "Sorry, but I don't think I should accept that offer."

"Hmm, I think there is something that I should show you something before I take in your answer." He stood there for a moment. I lifted an eyebrow in confusion, waiting eagerly.

Genesis smirked and then the last thing that I would have thought of happened. A black wing came out from his left side. I had always loved the idea of angels, but this—I didn't think was very angel like. "Wow," was all I could say.

"Impressive, don't you think?" he asked. "So, now do you want to join me?"

"Genesis, I don't even know what you desire to retrieve, or destroy, or anything."

The man walked around me, draped his arms over me, tied me in his grasp, and whispered in my ear, each word dripping with promises. "The mysterious abyss 'tis the Gift of the Goddess. In pursuit of this gift we take flight." He reached a hand up to one of my black curls and started twirling it around his finger. "Within the heart's water surface a hopeless wander will flow. Like ripples to waves come forth the dreams below."

"What?" I responded, feeling slightly flustered.

"Loveless, you did just watch it, did you not?"

"Y-yes, now I remember. But why quote that specific line?"

Genesis moved to stand in front of me, no longer standing too close. "If you really want to find out, then why don't you join me in finding the gift of the goddess?"

I had to clear my throat to refocus myself. "Sorry, but I think I'm going to have to pass."

"Suit yourself. Just don't blame me for the consequences." Genesis left. His elegant wing helped him fly out of the scene. My eyes followed a feather that fell out of the sky behind him. I outstretched my hand to catch it, but it disintegrated before it reached my palm.

Silence. I had a feeling that this wasn't the last time that I would meet this man. Genesis. I got lost in my thoughts about the mysteries behind him. I had to admit, I wanted to know. The adventure I was looking for, I knew that I could find it in him. At that time, I know my subconscious was telling me that he was a bad idea, but I couldn't help but want everything that he could offer. I was glad when I was yanked out of those thoughts.

"Zinica!" I heard a familiar voice call. I spun around and saw Reno. "There you are! I was looking everywhere for you!"

"What? You expected me to just stand in that spot and eagerly await your inevitable return?"

"I don't know." Normally, he would have joked and been cockily sarcastic, but something was off. I could tell he was distracted. "Can I look at your shoulder?" he asked.

"My shoulder…?" It was a strange request. I was instantly curious.

"Y-yeah." He reached for me, but I slapped him away. "Ow, hey!"

"Hey, I'm not the one running around asking to touch girl's shoulders."

"I'm sorry. This isn't like me. Would you like to know why I need to see your shoulder?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well that's just too bad, because you simply can't know."

"Then you can't see my shoulder." I took a step back. Reno was being really weird; especially because his expression read, 'contemplating.' We stared at each other for many silent moments. "Give me your shoulder!" Reno screamed as he lunged for me.

"No!" I yelled.

Somehow, he got a hold of me and my sleeve. I had to think of something and fast.

"Rape!" I started screaming repeatedly. Struggling, I tugged and pulled, trying my hardest to escape. Despite my flailing, Reno managed to spin my so my back touched his chest, one of his hands covering my mouth and muffling my speech, the other holding my hands together behind my back. I bit his hand in protest.

"Ow! Clam down! I'm not going to rape you!"

"That's what they all say!"

While I continued to wiggle, he tugged down on my sleeve and revealed my shoulder. "Okay, so it is there," Reno said, sounding relieved.

I stomped on his foot with all my weight, elbowed him in the stomach, and after spinning around once free from his grasp, I kicked him in the chin for added measure. "What's where?" I inquired angrily. I glanced over at my shoulder and noticed that there was a tattoo, a roman numeral nine, IX, on it. "What's that?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"No, I will worry about it. I've never had a tattoo there before and excuse me? You just assaulted me to see it! It has to be important, damn it tell me!"

"Zinica," he put one, soft and gentle, hand on my face, "please don't make me tell you."

And back to his eyes. They were so sorrowful and pleading. I couldn't, I just couldn't.

"Whatever." I slapped his hand away and pulled my shirt back over my shoulder.

Reno smiled. Oh that smile. "Now," he said. "Let's get you signed up for the Turks."

I sighed. All of a sudden, what had just happened hadn't. His emotions had completely changed and Reno was back to the way I remember him being. "Step one; find Tseng," he announced.

I recognized the name from my past. I had heard of a man named Tseng from my father. They worked together a lot. Of course, this Tseng wasn't going to be the same as the wonderful one I heard so much about. It would be too convenient if it was.

Reno took me for a ride on a helicopter. Well, it wasn't really a, 'hey Zinica, I want to take you on a helicopter ride!' It was more of a, 'we can't find Tseng, so let's look for him in a helicopter.' Lame, I know.

We were cruising over where, as Reno informed me, Edge was going to be built when he stopped the copter. "There he is!" he called. He landed it a safe distance away and exited, sprinting towards the other that he had spotted. "Hey! Tseng! I have good news!" he yelled as he ran across the terrain towards the black figure.

"Yes, Reno?" Tseng asked as I stepped out of the copter. "Who is she?"

"She's a new recruit."

"You mean,"

"Yeah, she wants to join."

"More of forced," I mumbled as I stood next to Reno.

Tseng squinted his eyes and stared into mine. "Reno," he began. "She already has Mako infused eyes—why?" Reno walked over to Tseng and whispered in his ear. I tried to hear what he was saying, but I was unsuccessful.

"Then why not send her to SOLDIRE? She's already gone through the process," Tseng said.

"Hojo's intent for her was the Turks."

"Of course it was," Tseng replied sarcastically.

"Well, just so you know, this chick isn't exactly psyched for all this."

"It's fine, Reno. I will bring her to headquarters so we can handle this situation properly." Tseng offered an outstretched hand. "The location of it, however, must stay secret. If you don't mind, we must blindfold you and bring you there."

I cautiously placed my hand in his as he led me towards the vehicle he had arrived at this location in. Reno waved goodbye and jumped back in his helicopter as my vision was obstructed by the black blindfold tied over my eyes. I had unintentionally placed all of my trust in these people. I was extremely excited.

When I could see again, I was in a large room with an equally large bureau, a wide television screen propped on the wall behind, and two floor-to-ceiling windows. The walls and floor were colored grey, the walls a slightly lighter shade. The ceiling was very high up, practically three times my own height, and painted white. On each side of the bureau was a person from Shinra, most likely appointed to protect the man sitting behind the desk at all times.

"Ah, Tseng. I was looking for you," the man said as he rested his elbows on the desk and folded his hands. His eyes only glanced over me. "But I haven't sent out a search party, so you must have your own reason for coming." This man, I was certain I knew him. His large appearance, green suit, overwhelming beard, it was all too familiar. No, all of my memories connected with him were horrifying, traumatizing even. When I was a child, this man almost ended my life. I couldn't bear to look at him, so I turned my sight down to my shoes. Everything was going blurry and started to sound like I was trapped inside a bubble. Feeling like I was going to faint, I sat in the chair that Tseng gestured for me to sit in and took deep breaths. I could hardly hear what he and the other were talking about.

"Sir, this is IX, Hojo's latest experiment. She has informed me that Reno is forcing her to join the Turks. There are also miscellaneous reports of excellent combat skills."

"Name?" he asked me. I looked up and stared at him for a long moment, wondering that if I told him my real name would he recognize who I was. He asked again, "Your name, girl, what is it?"

"Z-Zinica."

"Zinica, are you willing to join the Turks?"

"I understand that I no longer have a choice."

"Yes, that is true." He rose from his seat and leaned over his desk, outstretching a hand for me to shake in greeting. "My apologies, my name is Heidegger. I run this division."

Of course I was hesitant to take the hand, but I did. My entire being felt like it was going to explode or fall apart or something. I wanted to run away, and fast. Every time I looked at this man's face, all I could see was the fire in the background, his bloodied, frightening grin leaning over me with a knife, coming for my heart. I struggled to let the image go and understand that this man was not the same as the one from my home, but it was very tasking.  
When we sat back down, he continued to speak. "There are a couple things you should understand about this company. We are a part of the Shinra Electrical Company and there are certain expectations of us to keep up the reputation. As a member of the Turks, you are expected to always abide by the rules and do anything necessary to carry out your mission. Everything that takes place within in this company is a secret to any outsider and you will be expected to keep it that way. Even if you must kill your own family members, you will accomplish your mission, understood?"

It seemed a tad harsher than what my father had described to me. "I understand."

"Our job includes engaging in reconnaissance and espionage, or even black ops, including kidnappings and assassinations, on behalf of the corporation. Your intelligence and cooperation is a key component, so I hope that you are clever as well as affective in combat."

Finally, an opportunity to use my talent. "As a matter of fact, I seem to have an ability to understand people depending on different factors such as their speech patterns and how they carry themselves. I can especially tell if someone is lying or not."

"That, my dear, will actually be very helpful. I'm glad Hojo sent you to us, then. Tseng, bring her to the training room and run her through the preliminaries course. I will gather the top ranked Turks and we will observe. Dismissed."  
Tseng once again grabbed my arm and dragged me to a large rectangular room that had many wires sticking out of the sides. Near the ceiling there was a strip of glass where the top ranked Turks and Heidegger were gathered.

The top Turks consisted of Reno, Rude, and another I did not know. Reno gave me a thumbs up and winked. I could only imagine how excited he was to see me in that room, getting ready to start an initiation of sorts. It must have been like a dream come true.

"Zinica," Tseng said, drawing my attention back to him.

"Yes?"

"The only thing you are going to do is eliminate the enemies that will come before you. You are allowed to use any method you wish, but you will have no materia. Understood?"

"Understood. Will I have the weapon of my choice?"

"Of course, what is it?"

I had to think about it for a moment. I had to train under my father with so many different options that I wasn't really sure which one I preferred. I tried to imagine which one I used that made me feel the most comfortable and remembered the two pistols I loved. "Two pistols, please."

"Alright," Tseng walked over to a little box with a holographic keyboard attached and punched in some words. When he walked back over, he said, "Once I leave and the door closes behind me, you will be surrounded by a holographic landscape. The only way you can leave is if you defeat the highest level of enemies, which is twenty, or," he handed me a small metal box that was attached to a belt, "you press the big red button on this." He grabbed my index finger on my right hand and pressed it on the button.

"What did that do?" I inquired.

"If the button is pressed by something other than your right index finger, you will not be sent back here."

"Sounds good."

"Alright, then don't get killed and have fun."

Once Tseng left, the holographic room that appeared around me was where Edge was to be built. I could never forget this place. My father took me here all of the time, except that at home it is the sight of the final battle ground for the war. He said that he feels like he has a connection to the place, but doesn't know where from.

The weapons appeared in my two hands. I spun one of them on my index finger to get used to the weight of it and bent my knees into fighting position.

Strangely, I felt…stronger somehow.

Levels one through sixteen were a breeze. There were only a handful of enemies. The ones on the first ten levels were all one hit kills. I either shot them in the head, heart, or drop kicked their faces into the ground. Level seventeen was a little tricky. No any real challenge though. Level eighteen was hard. I found myself getting hit more and more often and almost lost all of my strength. I considered hitting the button attached at my hip, but I wanted even more to prove myself. I gathered what little strength I had left and pulled out my most advanced techniques to triumph the last two levels.  
When I completed the session, Heidegger's voice came over a loud speaker as the room dematerialized. "Nice work, Zinica. You are very talented. Tseng will direct you and the others back to my office so we can discuss more about you."

In the background of Heidegger's two sentences, I heard Reno's voice. "Yeah! I told you she could do it! Rude, you owe me 1,000 gil!" Quite the sum, but that wasn't the point, the point was that he was gambling with his friend on my accomplishments.

Back in the office, Heidegger called over our chatter to get us all focused. "Zinica," he began when we were all at attention. "Here, as a Turk, you will no longer be going by your real name. It will help detach yourself from the life you lived before being a part of the Turks. In addition, it helps keep the secrecy of the company, so that if anything must be attached to our name, it is difficult for anyone to track you."

"Understood," I replied, worried that I wouldn't be able to contact my father under certain conditions. I tried not to focus on it too much, deciding that I would be able to find a way and bend the rules somehow.

"From now on, you will be called Zinc," Heidegger said. As he informed me of the name that I would be called, one so close to my real name, I remembered what my mother had told me when I was really little.

"You know honey," she began as we were eating breakfast one morning. "Your father was the one that named you."

"How come?" I asked.

"Because when he came up with Zinica, I thought it fit perfectly, so there was no need for me to think of a different one. Your father said he picked that name because he knew that you would be just like him."

"Am I?"

"Yes, very much. He also said that wherever you may be, whenever you say your name, you will think about him."

How could I ever risk forgetting my name after a spontaneous conversation like that?

"Reno," Heidegger began, drawing both mine and Reno's attention back to the situation at hand. I wondered about what had distracted him, since when his name was said, he was instantly snapped into a composed, straight attitude. "Since you initially found Zinc, then you will show her around headquarters. Make sure she sees her room and understands the restrictions and allowances of our dress code. For the rest of you, return to working on your missions or whatever you were doing."

"The name suits you," Reno mumbled, winking as he grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room.

"And our last stop is your room," he announced as we stopped in front of yet another grey door. I grabbed the handle, twisting it to open the door and walked in.

"You like it, Zinc?" Reno asked.

"Yeah," I turned around and smiled at him. "So now what do I do now?"

"Well, Heidegger is probably not going to give you a mission until tomorrow, so you can really do whatever you want."

"That's the problem, though. What I want is to start on a mission."

"Hmm, well, I'm not on a mission right now, so why don't we try something?"

"Like what?"

"Like, a date."

"Yeah, you tried to rape me earlier today. I'm kind of feeling like you are trying to take this a little too fast."

"No, I didn't, and no I'm not."

I sighed. He obviously either forgot that the entire instance occurred or really wasn't focusing when it happened.

"Please?" he begged.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Is that a yes?"

"Reno, you jump to conclusions awfully fast,"

"Great! Let's go!"

"Reno!" But it was too late. He had already tugged me off to who knows where.

"Okay babe, here we are," he said as he took his hands away from my eyes. He had been holding them there, insisting that he wanted the sight to be a surprise. The first thing that I saw was his face, so I said, "Never, ever, call me babe, again."

Reno snickered and stepped out of the way. I had no idea where we were, but I didn't really care because it was all so beautiful. We were standing on a cliff that looked over Midgar. Flowers and long flowing grass covered the landscape. The two of us were standing in the middle of a patch of white daisies. I looked over at Reno and smiled. "I absolutely love it."

The other walked over to the edge and sat down with his legs hanging over. He patted on the ground next to him to signal my coming over and sitting there. I did so, of course. He made that face at me. I could never say no to that face.

Reno seemed to be displeased with the number of inches away from him I sat, so he scooted closer until our thighs were touching. "Do you think it's beautiful?" he asked.

"Yes, it's extraordinary." I replied.

"Do you know what else I think is beautiful?"

I looked over at him in confusion, hoping that this was his pathetic attempt at flirting.

"You."

I smiled sweetly in response; it sure was a good attempt. "What specifically about me?" I toyed. I decided that it wouldn't hurt to play along. Besides, in all of the stories I've ever heard, there can't be an adventure without the main character having a love interest. Otherwise, there is nothing exciting happening in the background when there's no action to be dealt with.

Reno started slowly inching closer to my face.

"Specifically how your smile is unlike any other, how I have never seen Mako eyes like yours before when they are said to all be exactly alike, how no matter how angry you are at me-" he paused. The tips of our noses were touching ever so slightly. "-or how convinced you are that I am going to rape you," I giggled.

"I can always smile when I look at you."

"Anything else?"

"Not yet," He pressed forward. The warmth of his lips spread through my cold body. I felt the tingling of his fingertips lightly moving up my back and towards my neck as he hooked my bottom lip with his. For some odd reason, I felt like I could feel a fire burning inside of him, and it melted all the sorrows that were in my heart of ice. I noticed he was playing with the bottom button of my shirt.

Who was I to not let him go for it?


	3. Project S

**RATED T FOR:  
****Mild Violence  
****Slight Language  
****Small Themes (if you know what I mean)**

* * *

"You ready for this?" Reno inquired.

"What do you mean, 'am I ready for this?'" I replied. Ever since my first day, he had been acting absolutely ridiculous. It was as if he had never experienced happiness before our destinies tied strings. He had seriously been getting on my nerves and I had become very short with him.

"Well, this _is_ your first mission."

"So? All I'm supposed to be doing is collecting data from this 'Hojo' guy." I looked over at him and made a pretend glare as I adjusted the tie on my newly acquired uniform. "_You_ aren't even supposed to be here."

"Aww, but Zinc—"

"If you blow my cover, I swear..."

"Alright, I won't hover for that long. I'll leave in a moment..."

"Thank you."

"But only if you spend time with me tonight."

I sighed, shook my head at him and walked off. I had been spending time with him constantly. To be honest, I kind of wanted some time to myself. I enjoy his company, don't get me wrong, I really like him; I was just not used to him yet.

"Wait, Zinc!" he called after me, quickly catching up and matching my pace.

The day before, on my third day as a Turk, Tseng told me that I had a right to know why I was allowed to be a Turk without any special background checks or anything, even though I didn't really want to be. He told me that I had to go to Hojo and ask him for the data on his experiment IX. Tseng promised me that he wouldn't question me too much about it, and for the questions he would ask, they would be simple ones that I could easily answer.

Once I had gotten señor clingy off my back and was on my own, I made my way into the science department of Shinra building.

"Excuse me," I called as I walked into a grey room. I saw him standing there with the same black hair and ridiculous glasses as the guy who was in the room the day I woke up from being tested on. This time I recognized him—Hojo, the man responsible, in my home, for so many problems between Shinra and my father.

"Yes?" he asked in a typical, mad scientist voice that was dragged out for too long. I was feeling slightly out of breath by the time he finished saying the one word.

"Would it be a bother for you either tell me about your experiment IX or show me the files on it?"

He smirked at me. It didn't take me too long to figure out why. That IX on my shoulder, the one Reno wanted to see the other day, was the result of this man marking me. It was as if I were his cow that he needed to brand in case I strayed into someone else's farm. In other words, Tseng had sent me out to get information on myself. In a way, it was cruel, but I have to admit that I was curious. Besides, as a Turk, part of an intelligence unit, I had to accomplish my mission no matter what.

"Why yes, of course my dear," he replied. He walked over to a desk with papers stacked ceiling high in some plies. From the middle of one of the stacks, he skillfully pulled out a manila envelope without the rest of the pile collapsing. Handing me the envelope, he said, "My name is Hojo, head of the Shinra Science Research Division. And what might your name be?"

"Zinc, sir." I really had no idea why I called this insensitive crazy man sir. Maybe it was an old habit of mine or maybe it was the polite side of me running up to say hello.

The scientist took a seat at the desk with the enormous amounts of paper. I opened the folder and started on the first page that was stamped, CONFIDENTIAL in big, bold, capital, red letters. At the top of the page was a picture of me. I was wearing the same scarf, three-quarter sleeved sweater top, shorts, brown tights, thigh-high socks, and knee high boots that I had been wearing on my first day to this dimension—when everything was happy and exciting.

Next to my picture was my name. Under age, date of birth, place of birth, and other terms of the such, was written _unknown. _Under that was a physical description of me, then a brief paragraph about how I was from a different dimension and would be stuck in this one for four years. I expected that he had gotten this information from Reno since he was the one that brought me to him in the first place.

I turned to the next page and on the top, in bold letters, was written, "experiment results and notes". In handwriting, that I presumed was Hojo's, read the following:

_ Did not really respond much to the injection. It only twitched._

_ SECOND DAY: It showed some signs of transformation when it reflexively punched at the glass and made a crack. Possibly from a dream it was having._

_ It opened its eyes once and showed it's glorious mako color. They were momentarily the same as Sepiroth's. A good sign._

_ It sprouted a black wing momentarily and broke the container. Thankfully, it was unconscious, but the body attacked me and had substantial power. The power was a little less than equivalent to that of Sephiroth's._

_ THIRD DAY: Awakens, but shows no sign of memory of what had happened. I put the IX on its shoulder and put it back to sleep for one more day._

_ LAST DAY: Success. It was perfect. I could tell just by looking at it that, in time, it will turn into the perfect Sephiroth. But for now, it will humble itself among the ranks of the Turks, slowly ascending to the true power it wields._

I didn't really understand it at first since I had no prior knowledge to that of who Sephiroth was. In my dimension, Sephiroth was a member of SOLDIER, but was K.I.A. while he, my father, Angeal, and Genesis were all fighting in the war.

I turned the page and was at the last. All that it read was scientific stuff that was complete gibberish to me. I scanned it over and it had nothing to do about me, only the injection that was mention in his notes.

Looking up, I closed the packet. Hojo looked over at me and chuckled. I could tell that he was very excited at the aspect of getting to communicate with me as my superior. "Not so clueless now, are you girl?"

"I knew that I was an experiment, but since I'm not from here, I don't really know who Sephiroth is," I replied, trying to maintain calm in my voice so that I appeared not intimidated by this man.

"I will put it simply. Sephiroth is the most powerful being to ever be created and has the power to destroy the universe!"

"But that means-" I began, losing my cool.

"Yes my dear! It means that the pretty little life you have now will soon be gone and you will become a killing machine! Maybe even more powerful than Sephiroth himself!" Hojo began to cackle evilly.

I was fuming. There was no way that I would give in so easily to this retched man and his desires. He had no right to decide my fate or my actions. Everything was going perfectly—the story of my adventure here was unfolding just as I wanted it too and this man was not going to get in the way of any of that. While he was laughing, I stormed out of the room, out of the building, and into the streets of Sector 8.

"Whoa, hey! Zinica!" I heard from behind me as I trudged. I had no intention of spinning around to find out who it was that was calling out to me. Well actually, I knew very well who it was because I could identify his voice no matter the circumstance, but I didn't care about anything that was going on around me. Until he touched my shoulder and stopped me.

"What do you want, Zack?" I said coldly.

He ran in front of me and pulled my chin up to look at him.

"What happened?"

My hands formed into two clenched fists and I fell into his embrace.

"I'm an experiment; a death machine. I fell into a trap and was injected with this sciencey stuff! I'm...I'm a..." I sobbed. My intelligence always seems to drop when I'm sad. I just, don't care about the words I say, so I end up sounding kind of childish.

I fell to the ground in tears and everything was silent until life around me faded and I drifted into unconsciousness.

I opened my eyes and looked around. I imagined that Zack had carried me to this place—the church. "You're awake!" Aerith exclaimed.

I furrowed my eyebrow at her as I sat up. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No! It's just that when Zack brought you in, I was really worried."

I hugged her. It was rare for me that people cared so much about my well-being.

"Thank you, both of you." I smiled warmly to the two of them.

"I was really glad when I saw you walking in Sector 8 because we hadn't seen each other since you were kidnapped that one time," Zack mentioned.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot to come back and tell you guys that I was okay. I was too busy doing other things. My apologies."

"It's alright. We should be the ones apologizing. We couldn't save you."

"If I may ask, what happened, exactly?" I inquired.

"When you fell into Reno's arms, unconscious, I picked up my sword and went to go attack him, but Rude punched me down."

"I threw a rock at Reno, but he kept walking away until a helicopter landed outside and the two hopped in," Aerith added.

"I thank you guys for trying to save me. You shouldn't feel bad for not being able to, because everything is inevitable."

Aerith and Zack exchanged awkward glances. She looked down at the wooden floor. "I guess, but, what happened to you? We were so worried."

I too, then looked at the floor. "I became a test subject for Hojo. He gave me this injection and turned me into, as he says, 'a perfect Sephiroth clone.' But I refuse to let that happen, or believe it. I would never hurt anyone."

Aerith gasped. Zack put a comforting arm around me.

"I know that you have the strength to fight off the transformation. Everything is going to be okay, I promise." I folded into his embrace, feeling the familiar warmth of my father that I had come to miss. Even though I knew that these two people were not actually my parents, I still felt incredibly reassured by their efforts to help me. In a way, I felt like the two were somehow pulled to treat me like a daughter, almost. Similar to how my father is pulled to Edge, these two don't understand why they felt so pulled to act as my parents. It made me realize how much I missed my home, even though I had been getting the adventure.

Longest, most boring month of my life. Absolutely nothing exciting happened. I had taken to the everyday schedule of wake up, eat food, get mission assigned, go to mission, come home, eat food, be with Reno, and fall asleep. Not even one side effect from the experiments on me occurred.

I woke up, however, to another day, thinking it would be the same as always, but instead, I was assigned a mission with some Infantrymen.

"Zinc," Tseng said through my phone as I walked outside to the helicopter I always took to my missions. "Today, your mission will accompanied by some Infantrymen. It will be just you and them, so be careful."

"I understand," I replied.

"Good. You will be going to the Shinra Manor in Neibelheim. All you have to do is scope out the place and collect any data that you deem important. Anything about project S. You may read the documents if you are interested, but it is not required for you to do so. I'm counting on you."

_ Click._

_ Click._

I hopped on the helicopter and made my way to my destination. On the ride over, my phone rang again. I flipped it open and held it to my ear. "Zinc speaking," I said into the receiver.

"Yo, it's Reno," he replied, "I heard you were heading up to Neibelheim today."

"That is true, what about it?" I asked, sitting down in the leather seats, plugging one ear in an attempt to hear over the sounds of the helicopter.

"There's been something up with the place recently—not good things. I just wanted you to know so you're extra careful."

"Thanks, Reno. Tseng warned me as well."

"Okay, good. Just, promise me you'll be safe."

"You know me, I'll be fine."

"Can you promise?"

"I'll talk to you later, kid." The nickname had become a sign of endearment between the two of us. I called him kid and he usually responded with rookie. I asked him where he got that from once, but he remarked that it was an old habit.

_Click._

I hung up on him, I know, but that was because I can't make promises. Every time I have, I haven't been able to keep them. Every single time. Even when I simply promised to wash the dishes at the end of the day, I couldn't keep it. Especially in this case, however, I had no idea what would happen in this town, so I didn't want to promise him that I would be alright when there was a possibility that I wouldn't be. If it was inevitable that something bad would happen to me, then it would, and a promise to him wouldn't change that.

Upon arrival at the destination, I was bombarded with questions from the Infantrymen of what we were doing at the site. There were three of them, one of which told me they were expecting one more. "Hold on, you all were sent here without a briefing and without a full party?" I asked the one who seemed to be in charge of the others.

"No," he replied, seeming a little offended at my assumption, "we were informed that we were to escort a Turk around the Manor and protect her at any cost. The guy we're missing suggested to scout ahead to see how bad the monsters were today."

"You only sent one guy? What was the sense in that? If he dies, then it's your fault, you know."

"I told him to come back before that happened."

"How very strict of you," I replied sarcastically.

"Hey! It's you!" I spun around to see the final man running towards us from an off-the-trail path. He was wearing his helmet, but I assumed that it was the guy from my first day here who had run up to me in a similar manner. This time, however, when he came up to me, he took off his helmet and said, "It's me, Cloud."

"Oh yeah, I remember you. You're one of Zack's friends, right?"

"Yeah, and, I'm sorry I've completely forgotten your name."

"Zinc," I outstretched a hand for him to shake.

He took it, but looked at my quizzically. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"How could I forget my own name?"

"True."

"Alright," I turned to address the whole group. "Now that everyone is here, we should get moving."

"You're the woman in charge," the Infantryman I was addressing before said.

To be honest, I was insulted to an extent that these men had to come with me. It inferred that Tseng didn't believe that I could handle myself, which was the farthest thing from the truth. Heidegger told me himself that I was one of the most talented Turks they have. I guess the Infantrymen coming along were more for their own benefit than mine.

As the five of us made our way up the mountain that led to the Shinra Manor, Cloud took it upon himself to take off his helmet, finally, and reveal his true identity. He was blonde with a soft face and incredibly spiky hair. I compared it to my fathers, thinking that is was similar, except slightly out of hand rather than the well-kept, slicked back way my father wore it. "So," he said to me at one point, "Are you new in the Turks?"

"Relatively, yes. I joined about a month ago," I answered.

"That's pretty cool, I came here wanting to join SOLDIER, but they told me I was unfit for the Mako infusion process," he explained.

"I'm sorry, that's really unfortunate. I wish I had a choice for all of that. Instead, I was kidnapped and had it forced on me. Zack can tell you about it, next time you see him."

"I don't know if I will again. He's in SOLDIER, I'm not. Our divisions are kind of rivals."

I looked over at him for a moment, stopping in my tracks. The others around me stopped as well, staring at me in confusion. I was curious as to what Cloud meant by that they were rivals. It was a military, so weren't the two supposed to cooperate? I had hoped that that was the way it would be in this different world. I believed that SOLDIER was just the elite division of the Military, but I guess I was wrong—very wrong. In my home, it was something that led to the war. The Infantrymen were fed up with not being able to have the Mako infusion that they wanted, creating tension between Shinra and the rebellious group, AVALANCHE. In some ways, I became a tad excited, because if that was the way things were, then this Midgar might break out in Civil War just like mine and I would get to experience the war that I had just missed by a year.

Just as these thoughts ran their course through my mind, I looked behind him to see the most menacing looking Bomb there ever was. It was about to explode right behind Cloud. Since the focus was on me at the moment, I was the only one who noticed the monster. I screamed for everyone to take cover and shot it right in the mouth. My attempt, however, to dismiss it before the explosion failed. As the Infantrymen dashed away, I stared into the flames erupting in my face. I was blown onto my back, landing on top of Cloud with a bloodied face. My hearing impaired, my ears rung in high pitches, making my mind feel fuzzy. I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or not, but soon I regained a trace of vision. The first person I saw was Cloud. I could tell that he was holding me up on his lap and that his lips were moving, but I still couldn't hear a thing. "Get me to the Manor," I tried to say, but was unsure whether or not the words came out the way I wanted them too. Before I completely blacked out, I remember thinking about how I had to accomplish my mission no matter what the circumstance.

Of course, before long I woke up and found myself inside the Manor, just as I had requested. I sat up and looked around, seeing that my guards were all still there, guns at the ready in case anything came towards me. To my surprise, I had fully regained my hearing. I ran my fingers over my face and there wasn't a single mark or wound that I could feel. As a matter of fact, I think that my hearing as well as vision was better than it had been. My heart was racing, I felt like a hundred degrees, and my senses were somehow improved. I wondered if it had something to do with the experiment done on me, eventually deciding that it was.

"Cloud," I said, looking around for him.

"Glad to see you're awake and okay, but he's not here," one of the Infantrymen replied.

"Then where did he go?"

"Your phone rang while you were out cold, so he answered it. Told some guy named Tseng what happened, then was directed to look for some files. You should probably give him a call."

"Thank you," I said. I stood and left the room, instructing the men to spread out and take out any monsters they encountered. Once I was by myself, I flipped open my phone and dialed Tseng's number.

"Are you feeling better, Zinc?" he inquired.

"Yes, thank you," I responded. "What exactly did you tell then man who answered my phone previously?"

"I gave him no specific details, but to recover any files he found. At first, I told him that it was not necessary that he carry out your mission, but he insisted on helping. You should go through the files he has found and locate any remaining ones in the Manor."

"Understood. I will carry out my mission."

"I expected nothing less of you, Zinc. Carry on."

_Click_.

I then pursued searching every room in the Manor for said files. There weren't many to find on the upper levels of the house, so I assumed either Cloud had collected a good sum of them or that there was a basement that would serve as a gold mine. Eventually, I did run into the blonde.

"How are your findings?" I asked.

"Whoa!" he said, completely ignoring my question, "you're not injured at all!"

"Yes, that would be the case, but did you-"

"Oh yeah, sorry, I'm just surprised. You looked really bad."

"Well, thank you for the insult. Now may we proceed with business?"

"Sorry, sorry. I put them all in this room." He led me to a destroyed looking room on the second floor. Bookcases were destroyed and desks in shambles, books and papers lying about the floor in every which way. There was one small pile, however, of assorted folders and papers. I grabbed the stack of papers and sorted through them, soon determining that none of them were what I wanted. There were journal entries, a deed, and one lab report that I decided was important. "There has to be more than this, right?" Cloud wondered aloud.

I scanned the walls. Behind one of the bookcases was a suspicious looking line. I told Cloud that he was right, there should be more, and for him to scope out the main floor as I would look around the second. He agreed to the plan and departed. Once he was gone, I made my way through the debris to the bookshelf. I pushed it aside, very easily to my surprise, and examined the wall. I kicked at the wall, instantly making it crumble and reveal a spiral staircase. Descending the rickety structure, I made my way to a hidden basement. I turned to the left to find a locked door, which I picked with a pin from my hair and found myself in a room full of coffins. Incredibly suspicious, I investigated each, only to find nothing—except for one, which had a person inside. "Ack!" I called, jumping back. Actually, he was quite handsome. I wanted to touch his face, to feel his skin, or even wipe the long black locks from his eyes, but I wanted even more so to not disturb his slumber. Instead, I covered the coffin and locked it, hopping that the next person who came along would break it open and take the man with them on an adventure.

Retracing my steps, I went to the other way and discovered a laboratory. This, of course, was exactly what I had expected—a plethora of reports and documents labeled with "Project S." Curious, I scanned them, but soon after wished that I hadn't. What I had discovered was so dreadful, so lurid, that I couldn't bear to read them all. It told me more than I wanted to know about Sephiroth, but also explained to me why Hojo would want to replicate him.

I gave Tseng a call, asking him specifically what he wanted me to do with the files I discovered. He informed me that he spoke with Professor Hojo earlier and that he wanted only the files labeled "subject detail."

"Did you read them?" he asked.

"Yes," was the only word I was able to say.

"I'm sorry, I should have warned you."

"No, it was good that I read them. It tells me a little bit more about your society that I wasn't aware of."

"You're doing a good job, Zinc. Keep it up."

_Click._

_ Click._

I collected the documents he desired—one on Sephiroth, one on a woman named Lucrecia Crescent, and a final on a man named Vincent Valentine—and made my way back up the stairs.

When I found myself back downstairs, I encountered, Cloud, telling him that I found what I needed and asked him to gather to other Infantrymen. With my mission accomplished we left the Manor. The helicopter for me descended from the sky and as I walked towards it, Cloud called to me. "Will we ever see each other again?"

I stared at him for a moment, the sound of the helicopter behind me. I decide not to lie to him and say, "I'm not sure, but I hope so."

"Me too!" he yells, smiling. I waved goodbye to him and departed.

Every now and again us Turks were assigned a sort of free-day. It was actually mission, but it was so laid back that whenever one of the sort was assigned, we decided to call it a "free-day." The objective was to stroll through the assigned Sector and take note of any unusual activity among the people. That day, I was assigned the Sector 5 slums. I was going about my own business when I spotted Zack strolling towards the marketplace. He was looking strangely down, so I went over to him and initiated a conversation.

"Hello, friend," I said. "Is something wrong?" Of course, I knew that there was, but I didn't expect him to actually give me a straight answer.

"Oh hey, Zinica," he replied, a little startled to see me. "No, sorry, I was just thinking. What about you? You look a little down in the dumps yourself."

There was only one thing I could think of to tell him about. "I guess there was just a mission that I accomplished recently."

"Did something interesting actually happen?" he joked.

"There were some files that I found. The content was, for lack of a better word, disturbing. I'm still a little shaken by it."

"I'm guessing you can't tell me because it's something Turk-like and secretive."

"That's exactly it."

"Hey, so, off topic, I was heading down to do some training. Do you want to come?"

I didn't have anything else better to do, so I agreed to join him. I phoned Tseng first, asking him if it was alright, when of course it was.

We walked to the area past to park and started happily shooting and slashing away. I took note of Zack's fighting ability, determining that it was much better than what he had exhibited the first day when he attempted to save me. I complimented him, but he denied the fact, just as I knew he would. I could tell, however, that he had not always been that way—denying compliments. I think he used to be a little cocky and possibly flirty, basically the last person to turn down a compliment.

He too complimented my fighting ability, asking me where I got some of my techniques. I replied with an honest answer, my father. Zack remarked that some of them looked familiar, but nothing that he had ever done before. I mentioned that it might be a strange connection to someone in his past that he can't remember anymore, or even someone that he doesn't know at all. He declined the idea, saying that he probably just really liked the way it looked.

One bad habit of mine that I've had since I was a kid was making sound effects for my actions. Of course, that was one of the moments that I just had to make one for my pistol. As I shot the last enemy through the skull, I screeched, "PYUHEM!"

I had hoped that Zack hadn't noticed, but of course he did. "What was that?" he asked.

"I-it was a sound effect," I replied, blushing.

"For what?"

"My pistol. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize!" he said, chuckling in between words. He came over to me and rubbed my skull with his fist. "I think it's cute."

That was the absolute last thing that I wanted to be—cute. For my age, I decided that it was a degrading term. It was meant for children and babies and I was neither of those things.

As we laughed at each other, something peculiar happened. I stared at Zack, but for some reason, my vision started to blur and it appeared as if he were a monster of some sort. I tried to shake off the image, but my mind tried to tell me that I had to back away and attack. I knew it was Zack, a friend, with all of my heart. For some reason, my hands went towards my weapons. Practically instinctively, I jumped back, fighting with myself.

"What's wrong?" he asked me, trying to decode my strange state. I must have been wiggling oddly or something—I'm not really sure what I looked like then, considering that I wasn't really aware of my actions at the time.

"Please, just stay back, I don't want to hurt you," I said, trying not to stutter.

My arm, shaking, rose with the gun in hand, aimed towards Zack. My finger pressed on the trigger, but the next thing I knew I had blacked out and collapsed to the floor.


End file.
